This archived Twitter chat is from November 2018 and will open in TweetChat. The title of this chat is: Coding 101. Through this chat, participants will: 1. Explore the fundamentals of coding and creation, 2. Discuss ways to use technology to inspire our students to problem solve and think critically and 3.
Share tech tools to help teachers introduce coding. Find great tools and resources to help create lessons that incorporate coding skills.

This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help teachers and students learn about coding, and for use as a guide for finding the appropriate tools for use with all grade and skill levels. Nurture problem solving, logic, and creativity. Find resources for just one hour of code or for use as ongoing technology lessons.

In the Classroom

Explore these resources for use with after-school computer clubs or as an excellent tool when recruiting skilled parent volunteers. Turn the intimidating content of computer programming into an exciting learning adventure for all with these helpful sites!

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session from November 2018, opens in Adobe Connect. Prepare your students to use today's digital tools to help solve tomorrow's problems. Pattern recognition, abstraction, algorithmic thinking, and decomposition are core thinking skills that apply to any subject. Come see how to integrate these components into any content area with Microsoft MakeCode projects and Hacking STEM lessons--hands-on activities that engage students immediately. Participants will: 1. Review the fundamentals of Computational Thinking and how they can be applied across K-12 disciplines; 2. Explore MakeCode and Hacking STEM, two resources that promote Computational Thinking; and 3. Plan for the use of Computational Thinking in the classroom. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

In the Classroom

The archive of this teacher-friendly, hands-on webinar will empower and inspire you to use learning technology in the classroom and for professional productivity. As appropriate, specific classroom examples and ideas have been shared. View the session with a few of your teaching colleagues to find and share new ideas. Find additional information and links to tools at the session resource page. Learn more about OK2Ask and upcoming sessions here.

Synth describes itself as a "bite-sized podcasting platform." Use this site to create audio recordings up to 256 seconds in length, then combine those recordings into a podcast. Think of it as similar to a series of Tweets, but in an audio format. To create a recording, select the Podcast link then add the plus sign to create a podcast. Podcasts start in private mode by default, change sharing options after publishing your work. Synth also provides the opportunity for recording video from your webcam and the ability to add a transcription of recordings into the podcast. Invite participants to contribute by sharing the URL, the session code, or use the embed code to embed into your website or blog.

In the Classroom

Before using Synth with your classroom, be sure to practice setting up and sharing podcasts created with this tool. One way to practice is to set up a podcast with teachers in your building or district as a professional development opportunity. Create a "slow chat" discussing ideas for literature, thematic lessons, or professional book talks. Once you are comfortable using Synth with students, create exit tickets for students to reflect, enhance their learning, and discuss the day's lesson. Synth allows students to extend critical thinking by adding web links to recordings. Ask students to share their opinion on any subject and include a web address to support their conclusion. Have students transform learning by embedding a Synth podcast into a multimedia presentation created with a tool like Sway, reviewed here, and create an interactive discussion on the topic. Instead of using your standard pre-assessment materials, replace these with Synth and extend student understanding by sharing their knowledge (or what they would like to learn) as a quick way to gauge what students already know.

This series explores the intersection of art and science through thought-provoking podcast discussions. Topics range from music and its healing effect to the inclusion of optics and physics in sculpture. Each podcast is under 10 minutes long. Listen to podcasts online, download, or use the embed code to include on your class website or blog.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Use this site to "hook" artistic-inclined students into learning more about the science behind their interests. Share podcasts with your students on your class website or have students listen on their own devices. After listening to podcasts, ask students to explore the topic further through research online. Instead of creating a written or online list of bookmarks used, replace these and have students create a Padlet, reviewed here, to include bookmarks, images, videos, and additional content. Share the Padlet with other students and classes to allow others to collaborate on the topic. Use this podcast series as inspiration for students to create their own podcasts. Instead of having students respond through a writing project, expand this into a weekly or bi-weekly podcast sharing student research into the arts and sciences. Podcast Generator, reviewed here, is one of many free podcasting tools available to create and share podcasts.

Discover music from all over the world and from over 100 years back in time! Visit Radiooooo and start listening immediately (no registration required) or download the iOS or Android app. Just select a country (all countries in yellow have music), decade, and mood (from tabs at the bottom) the music will begin. Create a playlist from different countries and decades using Taxi Mode. Create an account to save your favorites, or upload your own favorite music.

In the Classroom

Social studies will have a heyday with this program! Complement any period in time with its music. Use music from the site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Play music from the period you are studying during reading or research time. Use during current events for students to hear the music and language of the country of the article. Allow students to explore the site on their own, and then share their findings with classmates. Ask students to exchange paper journals and write about their impressions of the music and make comparisons to their favorites of today using a blog tool like Telegra.ph, reviewed here. With Telegra.ph you just click on an icon to upload images from your computer, add a YouTube or Vimeo, or Twitter links. This blog creator requires no registration. Redefine learning by challenging students create multimedia timelines (with music, photos, videos, and more) using Hstry, reviewed here. Any teacher will appreciate Radiooooo. Play music selections quietly during any subject and student work time. Filter distractions by finding instrumentals to play during silent reading time, test taking, lab activities, or any other quiet time during class. World language teachers can use this tool to introduce music from all the countries whose population speak the language they teach. This tool would also be perfect for performance groups such as drama clubs or musicals that need background music. Use background music for poetry readings during poetry month.

This archived Twitter chat is from November 2018 and will open in TweetChat. The title of this chat is: Personalize That Learning! Through this chat, participants will: 1. Define personalized learning and its characteristics 2. Share tech tools that aid in creating a personalized learning environment and 3. Share resources to help with lesson planning which incorporates personalized learning. Find great tools and resources to help create lessons that incorporate personalized learning strategies.

In the Classroom

Find tools and resources to create lessons that incorporate personalized learning. Share this chat with your colleagues looking for sites and information related to personalized learning. Explore the various tools that are shared.

For the Teachers contains an incredible number of lesson ideas, differentiation tips, instructional strategies, and much more for all teachers. Search for specific content using the keyword search or scroll down the home page to find some of the site's most popular content. There is a great deal of useful content on the site to explore, of note is the Reading Skills for Big Kids and Differentiation links. The Reading Skills for Big Kids includes skill-based lesson plans for use with the many included leveled articles. The Differentiation portion of the site provides specific ideas and tools to differentiate content, assessment, and lesson activities and materials.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Be sure to bookmark this site to save as a favorite to find lesson ideas and activities throughout the school year. When planning for a substitute, look through the site to find useful ideas for lessons and planning organizers. There is so much material here to use, consider exploring the site with peers using techniques similar to a book study. Divide the site into sections to discuss at different times of your study. Organize your favorite materials from this site and your other resources using Padlet, reviewed here. Share your Padlet with peers to collaborate and create a useful time for organizing and sharing your favorite teaching materials. Supplement information included on report cards by using a site like Seesaw, reviewed here, to create portfolios for your students to demonstrate progress in reading, math, and other content areas. Include student-created projects based on activities found on For the Teachers.

Do you want to share just a portion of a YouTube video? ytCropper is your solution, no registration required. Enter the URL of the video and select Crop! to begin. Use the handles on the timeline bar to adjust your video stop and start times then select Crop! again. When finished, ytCropper provides a direct link to your shortened video along with an embed code for use in websites or blogs.

In the Classroom

Use ytCropper to highlight specific information from YouTube videos for student use. After creating a shortened clip, encourage students to predict what comes next or use the segment before showing the entire video. Flip your classroom and ask students to use ytCropper to share important information from videos or highlight portions that need further clarification. Using shorter video segments offers many opportunities to use video clips within other online tools. For example, have students change their learning by creating a ThingLink, reviewed here, including a shortened video clip, images, and text to describe the stages of plant growth, introduce a political figure, or provide background for a novel. Ask students to include shorter clips within multimedia projects created using a tool like Adobe Spark, reviewed here, to redefine their learning and understanding.

Do you need inspiration for art and technology-rich STEAM lessons? Take a look at the many ideas on this site created by art teacher Tricia Fuglestad. Lesson topics include ideas based on famous works of art like Edvard Munch's The Scream and Gilbert Stuart's George Washington portrait. Each lesson consists of a link to the blog post describing the lesson, many of these also include a video overview of the activity. Editor's Note: Some links in the lessons go to a paid site to purchase lesson materials such as PowerPoints. The free lesson ideas and suggestions on this site are sufficient for creating and teaching these ideas without having to buy anything additional.

In the Classroom

If you feel that you are strong in the arts but not technology (or the other way around), find a teaching partner that complements your strength and work together to teach lessons from this site. Use ideas from here in your classroom makerspace. Download the browser extension, Surfmark, reviewed here, to add notes and questions as you prepare to teach lessons from this blog. Surfmark offers the ability to collaborate and share with others through the addition of written and audio notes to any web page. Use lesson activities found on this site as a replacement for traditional research projects, book reports, or written reports. Have students use a blogging tool like Edublog, reviewed here to share images and videos of their work from start to finish and to reflect upon learning. Have older students extend learning through the use of Symbaloo Learning Paths, reviewed here. Ask them to research and find additional information on the topic of your lesson and create a learning path for other students to complete. For younger students, create a Symbaloo Learning Path for students to complete as a center activity to complement your STEAM learning activities.

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session from October 2018, opens in Adobe Connect. Empower students to choose how they will meet their learning goals by helping them to focus on building knowledge, understanding, and essential skills. Learning Menus or Choice Boards allow your students to complete equally active, interesting and engaging assignments which demonstrate their comprehension of the presented material. This session will help you learn to create and use differentiated Choice Boards based on Tomlinson's model for differentiation. Participants will: 1. Understand Tomlinson's model for differentiation; 2. Learn about the use of Choice Boards for both instructional and assessment purposes; and 3. Plan for the use of Choice Boards as part of instruction. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

In the Classroom

The archive of this teacher-friendly, hands-on webinar will empower and inspire you to use learning technology in the classroom and for professional productivity. As appropriate, specific classroom examples and ideas have been shared. View the session with a few of your teaching colleagues to find and share new ideas. Find additional information and links to tools at the session resource page. Learn more about OK2Ask and upcoming sessions here.

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session from October 2018, opens in Adobe Connect. Engage students and deepen content area knowledge using Animoto to create instructional videos. Text, audio, and video provide additional context to content area instruction for your students. Use student-created videos as formative assessment. Brainstorm with others workshop participants on how you and your students can use Animoto in the classroom. Participants will: 1. Learn basic use of Animoto; 2. Explore three different ways to use Animoto in the classroom; and 3. Plan for the use of Animoto in the classroom. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

In the Classroom

The archive of this teacher-friendly, hands-on webinar will empower and inspire you to use learning technology in the classroom and for professional productivity. As appropriate, specific classroom examples and ideas have been shared. View the session with a few of your teaching colleagues to find and share new ideas. Find additional information and links to tools at the session resource page. Learn more about OK2Ask and upcoming sessions here.

Explore the concept of fear through this Halloween Collection based on PBS T.V. shows. The collection includes videos and lessons for students in PreK through high school. Each item included on this site provides links to standards, and many include lesson support materials. Use links to share directly to Google Classroom or social media accounts.

In the Classroom

Instead of viewing videos on this site as a class, enhance student understanding by using EdPuzzle, reviewed here, to create a complete lesson within the video. Students could then view videos in class as partners, or at a learning center on their own. In blended learning classes, students could watch the videos on their own at home if you post them on your website. EdPuzzle offers features for inserting questions into videos and provides quick feedback on student understanding. To wrap up your unit, substitue a paper and pen project by having younger students work together to create a class book using WriteReader, reviewed here, to share different types of scary situations and suggestions on how to address them. For older students, have them redefine their learning by using a multimedia tool like Book Creator, reviewed here, to analyze supernatural or historic events like the Salem Witch Trial included in this site.

Edji is a collaborative classroom reading tool that offers options for you to interact with text. Use this site to share text, then have readers highlight and add written and audio comments to portions of text. Also, use Edji to allow readers to add comments within pictures, even selecting a specific part of an image to share a response. Create your account to start a new reading using your email or Google account. Use security features to make readings public or private and choose from grade level options. Type or paste text and use options to insert images or PDF's. Create a group for sharing, and Edji provides a URL and code for students to access your work. Use the Heat Vision feature to view the finished product with highlights and comments shared by all readers.

In the Classroom

Be sure to check out the Guide link, at the bottom of the page, on Edji to see lesson ideas and tips for using Edji in the classroom. Create an Edji with an introductory passage for a new unit and share with students. Ask them to highlight, comment, and ask questions about the information and use as a pre-assessment tool. Use Edji to create quick and easy writing prompts and starters - upload an image and ask students to share adjectives and interesting verbs to use in their writing. Use Edji to create peer response tools when sharing student writing.

This archived Twitter chat is from October 2018 and will open in TweetChat. The title of this chat is - Engage, Enhance, Extend: Creating Authentic Lessons. Through this chat, participants will: 1. Explore the main components of the Triple E Framework, 2. Discuss ways to successfully integrate technology into lessons, and 3. Share resources to leverage authentic engagement in the classroom. Find great tools and resources to integrate technology into your lessons while keeping the focus on learning goals through the understanding of the Triple E Framework.

In the Classroom

Find tools and resources to create authentic lessons that focus on the learning goal and integration of appropriate technology. Share this chat with your colleagues looking for sites and information related to the Triple E Framework and technology integration. Explore the various tools that are shared.

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session from October 2018, opens in Adobe Connect. Good readers take breaks to process what they are reading. Learn to use Microsoft Sway to guide comprehension through the use of research-based strategies. Helping students become aware of reading comprehension strategies allows them to manage their learning and empowers them to read strategically. While teaching students to think about how they read isn't an end to itself, it is a great instructional strategy. This is specifically helpful in a flipped or blended learning model. Join us and learn how to put this into action in your classroom. Participants will: 1. Learn three active reading comprehension strategies; 2. Understand where these strategies fit in the instructional cycle; and 3. Plan for the use of Sway during reading instruction. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

In the Classroom

The archive of this teacher-friendly, hands-on webinar will empower and inspire you to use learning technology in the classroom and for professional productivity. As appropriate, specific classroom examples and ideas have been shared. View the session with a few of your teaching colleagues to find and share new ideas. Find additional information and links to tools at the session resource page. Learn more about OK2Ask and upcoming sessions here.

Ruff Ruffman is a comical canine who sets out to teach kids (ages 6-11) about being a responsible digital citizen. Short animated video clips answer questions about posting photos, texting, and searching, reminding kids to ask an adult for help with the more difficult undertakings like finding a kid-friendly search engine. This program also has discussion questions for parents and teachers and interactive quizzes. Creating an account isn't required to use any material on the site. To create an account, you will need a username and a random password will be assigned, which can you can change later.

In the Classroom

Introduce Ruff Ruffman with a projector or interactive whiteboard, showing students all of the different questions Ruff will answer. Then either view the video shorts and quizzes as a class, or allow students to view the video shorts and take the interactive quizzes at a computer center. As a substitute for paper and pencil, have students use a video response tool like FlipGrid, reviewed here, to reflect on their learning and share tips for their peers. To extend student learning, require students to view their peer's reflections and make thoughtful comments.

Stay Safe Online offers resources to help keep yourself, others, and your computer safe online. Visit the Resources page to find infographics, videos, logos and graphics and more. Click Stop.Think.Connect in the upper left corner of the menu to take you to page with tips and advice and even more resources. The tips and advice include Safety Tips for Mobile Devices (in many languages), doing a Digitial Spring Cleaning (with a checklist), What LGBTQ Communities Should Know About Online Safety, and many other practical tips about taxes, shopping online, Cyber Trip Adviser, etc. Before doing a task online, double check with Stay Safe Online and fight off the dark side of the web by using good cyber habits!

In the Classroom

Introduce this site or the accompanying pages of Stop.Think.Connect to show students how to navigate the resources. Then, allow pairs or small groups to choose from the tips and advice for further study and exploration. As a substitute for handwritten notes, have students document their learning and understanding by taking notes online with SuperNotecard, reviewed here. SuperNotecard can then be turned into a storyboard and used to create a multimedia digital story for students' siblings, parents, and peers. Show your students how to embed media modifying their work into a true digital story with one of these tools (click on the tool name to access the review): PicLits, Adobe Spark For Education, Plotagon, and My Simpleshow.

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session from September 2018, opens in Adobe Connect. Develop social media savvy in your students using practice spaces focused on digital citizenship, critical thinking, persuasion and communication skills. Explore online and offline strategies and tools to create safe, authentic learning experiences for students in grades 2-12. These strategies can be applied to any content area. As educators, we can prepare every child to be influential by helping them understand how to leverage the power of social media. While students intuitively understand the mechanics of social media platforms, using them in a responsibly purposeful way to build influence is not instinctual and must be taught and practiced. Participants will recognize the cycle of information gathering, processing, and posting; followed by vetting ideas and voice amplification as both a professional use of social media and an experience that learners should have. Participants will: 1. Learn the importance of responsible social media use by students; 2. Understand the purpose of using social media practice spaces as part of regular instruction; and 3. Explore both paper-based and digital practice spaces that can be used with students. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

In the Classroom

The archive of this teacher-friendly, hands-on webinar will empower and inspire you to use learning technology in the classroom and for professional productivity. As appropriate, specific classroom examples and ideas have been shared. View the session with a few of your teaching colleagues to find and share new ideas. Find additional information and links to tools at the session resource page. Learn more about OK2Ask and upcoming sessions here.

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session from October 2018, opens in Adobe Connect. Transform your classroom activities with interactive images created using Google Draw. Engage students and deepen content area knowledge by adding text, audio, and video to images which bring additional context to your instruction. This strategy can be used across content areas and grade levels. Participants will: 1. Learn how to create an interactive drawing; 2. Identify ways in which interactive drawings can be used to support instruction; and 3. Create an interactive drawing that can be used in class. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

In the Classroom

The archive of this teacher-friendly, hands-on webinar will empower and inspire you to use learning technology in the classroom and for professional productivity. As appropriate, specific classroom examples and ideas have been shared. View the session with a few of your teaching colleagues to find and share new ideas. Find additional information and links to tools at the session resource page. Learn more about OK2Ask and upcoming sessions here.